Finds for Writers
Most Fridays the Practicing Writing blog shares writing and publishing resources, news, and reflections to peruse over the weekend. But it’s been an excruciating week for so many of us. And frankly, I’ve paid next-to-no attention to garden-variety news from the writing and publishing spheres.
On Wednesday, however, I received an email from Facing History and Ourselves, a Boston-based global nonprofit organization that I’ve admired for many years. The email introduced a “mini-lesson” titled “Processing Attacks in Israel and the Outbreak of War in the Region.”
The resource isn’t perfect. (What resource is?) But one of its segments impressed me as something that, though intended for educators and students, could be clarifying for writers as well, in our work and in the rest of our lives. It’s a section titled “Avoiding Antisemitic and Islamophobic Tropes in Discussing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.”
- I don’t usually share these opportunities on Fridays, but I sense that time may well be of the essence here: According to Shenandoah‘s website, “fiction submissions (short stories and novel excerpts) will open on September 10, 2023 until we reach 200 submissions.” (Something tells me those spots will go fast—possibly even by the time the next Monday Markets & Jobs post rolls around.) As a reminder, Shenandoah pays “$80 per 1000 words of prose up to $400.”
- From Aviya Kushner: “Prose by Poets: A Mini-Syllabus.”
- From the Library of Congress: “Ada Limón’s signature project as the nation’s 24th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, ‘You Are Here,’ will feature two major new initiatives: an anthology of commissioned nature poems and poetry installed as public art in seven national parks.”
- Via Christine Sneed: still more bookseller insights for authors.
- And if you’re in search of some pretty amazing bookish perks (particularly of the children’s-literature variety) in exchange for supporting the independent publishing company Levine Querido, you’ll want to check out the Friends for Levine Querido auction. It remains open through September 13. (Cross-posted on the My Machberet blog, where you’ll also find the latest Jewish-lit links.)
Have a wonderful weekend.
Thanks for being “on top” of so many things.
Yay Erika! If you hadn’t posted this about Shenandoah, I would not have submitted today, on the 10th. Duotrope even said they were still closed, but they probably hadn’t changed the Duo listing yet, because they are open to fiction and accepting just 200. My notes showed that they once “encouraged me to submit again,” the kind of note I tend to forget, so thanks for this and for all that you do. I also noted something about them I hadn’t paid attention to before, which is that they try to include a novel excerpt up to 8,000 words in every issue.
Oh, Kirie, I hope it works out!